Count on Me
by Graceful Swanna
Summary: When Mikaela was growing up, she was always known as the "good girl," the one everyone could always count on to get things done. When her mother decides that she needs to step outside her comfort zone and go on a journey, she is reluctant. However, with the rise of a cult, she is dragged more into the ordeal than she'd like. Can't she at least have a normal journey?


A blaring light. A stubborn ache. And heat. Oh, the heat. Even a fire-type would suffer through the inhumane temperature. All that was missing were the flames, and it would be a literal hell. Hell on earth. Arceus, she hated the summer heat. Especially jarring was the fact that her mom refused to fix the air-conditioning, stating that she couldn't afford it at the time, lying that she had to wait for her next paycheck (that was two months ago).

Mikaela groaned, pulling the freezer open and plucking an ice pack from it. She marched over to the couch, plopped down, and nonchalantly threw the ice pack over her bruised leg. She reached over her shoulder and jammed the curtains together, tearing one off in the process. She sighed, and got up from the couch to look behind it.

Just then, her mother decided to trample down the stairs, walked into the room, and stopped to stair at her daughter.

"Put that thing back. Now," her mother said dangerously, pointing to the curtain Mikaela currently held in her tanned hand.

"Mom, I'm putting it back righ-"

"Don't talk back to me. Do it now."

All Mikaela could do was sigh as she stepped up on the couch and hung the thick curtain back up. She stumbled a bit, but quickly regained her balance and finally managed to put it back in place. Satisfied with it, she jumped down and looked up at her mother, who was frowning.

"You need to lose some weight." Her tone was ice-cold. Mikaela squeezed her eyes shut and turned away to go to her room. Her mother walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"See? You're always so uptight about everything. You know what I think would be good for you?"

Mikaela rolled her eyes and let out a drawn-out sigh. She's be lying if she said that she didn't know what was coming. Her mother had this discussion with her every single year since she was ten, usually when she felt like she failed at everything.

"I really think that a journey would be good for you." Yep. The Pokémon Discussion. Mikaela let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Mom, I told you. I'm just not interested. Every since Lauren took me to Stark Mountain that one year, when I was nine, I just - I'm not interested, okay?"

Her mother pursed her lips and sat down on the couch. Ralph, her lillipup cuddled underneath her rough hand, growling playfully. Mikaela appeared by her mother's side and sat down as well.

"It'd be good for you. Like I said. You're fifteen, Mikaela, it's summer, and you don't have any plans. Why don't you do it?"

Mikaela absently petted Ralph before she stopped. The years before this one she always had an excuse to avoid the discussion before it hit a nasty point. When she was ten, she used the infinitely overused excuse that she felt she wasn't ready. When she was eleven, she had signed up for various camps. Twelve, she spent the summer at Abby's one last time before Abby left on her own journey. Thirteen, she had decided to take a summer school course. Ditto for fourteen. Mikaela was quickly running out of excuses (not to mention ideas) and she certainly didn't want to go to summer school again...

"Listen, honey. I know it's not exactly high on your priority list, but don't you think you should experience something outside of your comfort zone. Day in, day out, all you do is go to school, friend's house, and then household chores. Summer is just chores and maybe the occasional sleepover..."

Her mother trailed off and reached into the desk drawer next to the couch. She pulled out a neat, white box decorated with a blue ribbon.

"You're a responsible and mature young woman, Mikaela. And you pride yourself on your maturity. But if you really want to grow up, you need to learn to step outside your comfort zone."

She handed the box to a confused Mikaela. Mikaela stared at the box, and a small envelope attached. Her name was sloppily scribbled on the front in pencil.

"Your sister got that for you.

"Mom, don't tell me you got Lauren involved in this."

Her mother ignored the remark and instead gestured to the envelope. Mikaela figured she'd humor her. She pulled out the envelope, and neatly opened it without a single tear. A white sheet of paper was inside. She unfolded it, and began reading:

"_Dear Mikaela,_

_I've finally returned to Hoenn to collect the Frontier Symbols I've been putting off after a long journey through the other regions. Yeah, it's something I've been dreading, but we all have to do something like that to grow._

_Which brings up the topic of you. When I first heard that you didn't want to go on your journey when you were ten, damn was I disappointed. At least you'd be able to catch up to me if you were two years behind! Then you didn't want to go at eleven, twelve, thirteen..._

_Sorry, I'm going off on kind of a tangent here. Anyway, my point is, everyone has to experience a pokémon journey firsthand at one point in their lives. You're still young, but you should probably do it soon -at least before twenty, anyway. All the twenty-year-old beginning trainers are kinda cocky and just... ugh. Dang, I'm rambling again._

_Anyway, to persuade you to maybe try it, at least for a little while, I got you a really cool pokémon. It's from Hoenn. I'm pretty sure they don't migrate to Unova, either. You better accept it; that Cherish Ball was damn expensive. I have to live off berries for the next couple weeks._

_Good luck on your journey!_

_-Lauren"_

Mikaela hastily closed the paper and placed it on the desk along with the gift box.

"You _did _rope her into this, Mom," she said, crossing her arms. Her mother merely chuckled, gesturing to the box.

"Come on, honey. You still haven't opened the gift."

"Mom, I know it's a pokémon. She even said. I don't want it."

Her mother picked up the box and began unwrapping it for her. The moment the ribbon was pulled off, Mikaela hesitated.

"Hey! Don't open my present!" With that, Mikaela snatched the box and slowly tugged at the corners, carefully making sure there were no rips. Finally, she got it open, and tore away the red wrapping to find a neatly placed red ball. Just as Lauren said, it was a Cherish Ball. Lauren must really be trying to get her to go on this journey...

"Wow! What a nice pokéball! Is that a Cherish Ball?" As usual, her mother was trying to make every little thing seem like such a big deal.

"Yes, mom."

Though she was not eager to start her journey, Mikaela was really curious to see what was inside. But before she could open it, her mother snatched it away and jogged off. However, Mikaela didn't protest. Anyone would figure that she was taking it down to the Pokémon Center to get her registered. Against her will. She shrugged. Even if she was registered, she didn't _have _to go on her journey, right?

Right?

* * *

"As per Unovian Law, all registered trainers must be out of their houses and travelling any region within one day, if only for the health of their pokémon. Disobedience will result in jailtime unless liscense is disactivated by a legal adult."

Her mother was reading to her all of the rules of journeying from the handbook she picked up, much to Mikaela's disappointment. She was cool with most of them, which mostly involved letting your pokémon out once a day, letting them rest a day after a tough battle, and other similar laws. But that one? It seemed quite unreasonable to her.

"Well, honey? You want to see your pokémon? Maybe it would make you excited!" Her mother gave her an annoyingly cheerful smile, which Mikaela scoffed at. Her mother's tone aside, she was curious... a little bit, anyway.

Shrugging and sighing, she enlarged the red sphere, and with an effortless swoop, released the creature inside: a small, floating, black thing in what looked like a dress for a body with blue and yellow eyes. It floated back and forth before sticking its long red tongue out and winking at Mikaela.

...

What was that thing, anyway?

"Wow! It's a shuppet! That's so cool, honey! Everyone's going to envy you!"

Mikaela didn't respond; she was too transfixed on the thing's tongue. And astonished that Lauren would get her such a... thing. The tongue waved back and forth at a hypnotizingly slow pace, only several inches away from Mikaela's face.

And then it licked her.

Mikaela stumbled backward, falling onto the couch. The ghost-type pokémon playfully floated around her head, making high-pitched chuckling noises.

"Mom... mail it back."

Her mother looked crestfallen. "But honey! Look at it! It likes you!"

"Mom."

"Listen young lady, you are going to train that pokémon and go on your journey! Lauren caught it especially for you, and spent a shitload of poké on that ball of yours!"

"Mom-"

"NO! Shut up! I will have no excuses! If you are not gone by tomorrow morning, there will be consequences. Legal consequences."

Mikaela could only respond by facefaulting onto the couch and covering her head with a pillow.


End file.
